Portugal: Industrial output growth surges in March
Industrial output rose 2.6% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in March, which was up from February’s 0.3% increase. Looking at the details of the release, the upturn chiefly reflected surging output in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector. Moreover, mining output contracted at a softer monthly pace. In contrast, manufacturing fell at a steeper rate compared to February.
On an annual basis, factory output grew 3.5% in seasonally adjusted terms in March (February: +0.8% yoy), marking the best result in over one-and-a-half years. Accordingly, the trend pointed up, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 3.1%, up from February’s minus 3.5%.